Many creatures that laid hundreds of eggs at once did it for one specific reason: many of them will not survive more than a few hours after being hatched.

Whether it was because of predators, or the harsh habitat where they lived, or other external causes, only a few of the newborns would be able to walk away from the nest and live to become adults of their species.

In some cases, that was because of internal reasons, namely cannibalistic tendencies, like some spiders or mantises.

In the eventuality of no other food around to sustain them after birth, the nymphs would turn on each other, ripping themselves apart and feasting on the flesh of their siblings.

For that reason, I decided to get the hell out of there and find something else to eat. Even as a bug, I still had my conscience, and I refused to incur in such a barbaric act as eating members of my family!

"That, and I seriously doubt they will return the courtesy."

I kept my stride on the log, proceeding to get more distance as possible while keeping watch behind and up, as mantises are attracted to eat anything that moves, so it was best to get out from their sight. And they have a damn good vision!

[Title rewarded: Smart!

You acted with more foresight and logic than what would be expected from an individual of your kind.]

[Rewarded: +2 stat points to Int.]

[Rewarded: Normal Skill Inspect lv 1.]

[Rewarded: Normal Skill Mathematics lv 1]

And just like that, by acting with a bit of common sense, I achieved one of my starting objective: accessing the System! Either it was that easy or, the requirements were pretty low from the start.

*Alright! Skills, stats and Titles. It's like a game, so it won't be so hard to understand. Let's see... *

It talked about stat points, so I should have some Status Board to see and check myself.

That Inspect Skill looked like it could be what I was searching so time to give it a try. I focused my attention on myself and tried to activate the skill.

*Inspect.*

[Subject is Inspecting themselves. Adding bonus +2 to Skill Level.]

Oh, nice. When I try to learn about myself, I get a bonus to the skill, probably because I should already know about that, instincts and whatnot.

A window opened right before me, bringing me a whole new world of information.

STATUS

Name: N/A

Stats:

Strenght: 10

Constitution: 4

Defense: 3

Dexterity: 7

Speed: 8

Intelligence: 10

Charisma: 2

Luck: 2

Species: Vilpuo Mantrea Juvenile Nymph

Gender: Female

Lv: 1/10 (0%)

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Condition: Hungry, Weak

HP: 10/10

SP: 5/10

MP: 0/0

Normal Skills:

Stealth lv 1 (passive)

Camouflage lv 1 (passive)

Ambush lv 1 (passive)

Inspect lv 1(active)

Mathematics lv 1 (active)

Unique Skills:

Harvest lv- (active)

Titles:

Smart!

“So, this is me.”

The lack of a name was no mystery, I didn't even remember my old one, and an insect would not need one.

My species was a curious one, so I gave it a more in-deep look with Inspect, hoping that the bonus could suffice to get more information on the topic.

[Vilpuo Mantrea Juvenile Nymph: newborn specimen of the Mantrea species, living in the Vilpuo Forest. They are quick and good at hiding to survive.]

*Yeah, most of that I could tell by myself. Let's see if there's more.*

[Mantrea: Insect-type monster with solitary behaviour. Expert in ambushes, not a threat in open confrontation. Usually found in forests.]

[Vilpuo Forest: Largest wooded area of the Fornia continent. Habitat of many monster species. Its deepest parts are still unexplored.]

So, Mantreas are this world counterpart to the mantises. And they lived in areas like this one, that from the description, it reminded me of the rainforests, but with a more northern ambience than equatorial.

Also, I was a female...

*Wait, WHAT?! How? Why? Why am I a female? I clearly remember being male, so why the fuck they made me a chick mantis?*

Not that I had problems with that, but was it some way to mess with me? I couldn't understand what reason there was for making me from a pitcher to a catcher!

Then, I remembered something about making adjustments for granting me the best exemplar possible, and that in the mantises, females are bigger and stronger than males!

*Oh, for fuck's sake. Did they think that I would have an easier life as a girl? I would do great even with a smaller size.*

Well, at this point there was nothing more that I could do but complain about it. I would accept this change of my body, but my mind was still a man's one and my actions would reflect that fact!

*Let's go back to my status before I get more distracted.*

I was weak and hungry, and my stamina points were half of the maximum. Not a real surprise there, from how hungry I felt, so they were connected to my physical condition. I would fix that real soon, just the time to finish to check what I could do.

Some of my stats weren't that great. It probably depended on the fact that I was just born a few minutes ago, and I didn't have something to compare.

The fact that my defensive ones were so low put a bit of anxiety on me, as they reflected my species' ability in direct combat, but there was hope in the form of my Speed and Dexterity. If I couldn't allow myself to be struck, I would have to avoid being hitten, running away and dodging.

Strength and Intelligence were my best stats, and I would make the most from them to survive.

The sound of skittering broke my concentration, making me turn my head towards the source of the noise, allowing my eyes to get the whole picture.

It looked that some of my siblings had the same idea as me, getting away from the midst of the brood and trying to find something to consume somewhere else.

It was a shame that some of them were coming right in my direction, and I still didn't want to kill my family, not counting that my condition wasn't optimal to fight, not without some loss.

They were probably in the same condition as me, but the fighting would only attract more and more of them, ending in a battle royale where the first fighters' fate would only be a grim one.

"Welp, I lost enough time already. Time to grab some grub."

And I sprinted away, glad that I gained that advantage by moving before all the others.

Quickly enough, I was down from the log and in the middle of a grass field, green as I was, surrounded by trees that, from my perspective, looked high as the sky.

*Then again, I don't even know how high I am.*

But looking at how my head reached the tips of the blades of grass, I could say that I was on the big side. It had to be with the fact that I was now a monster and not a simple bug.

And in the grass, I found what I was searching for: food!

It was a little black thing, barely bigger than my claw and round, with six thin legs for moving and two long backwards-facing antennae. I couldn't see the eyes of the creature, but its shape reminded me of an aphid.

[Minor Roca: Little bug that feeds on sap. Extremely common.]

Practically the same thing. That sounded like somebody pretty low on the food chain, and I was pretty hungry.

I didn't love the idea to kill, but it was my survival at stake, and it was a bug. I surely squashed many of them, it would be just another one to the list. What worried me was what taste it would have?

"No time like the present to find out."

I sneaked slowly towards it, careful to not agitate the grass with my movement, my eyes locked on its form, so evident over the green of the plant where it was resting. I could feel something stirring inside me as I was stalking closer to my objective, making me feel quieter and more accurate in my approach. Maybe were my skills in action? It was the most likely answer.

I reached out with one of my arms, mindful to not touching the antennae, less it was alerted of my presence, and I snatched it with a quick snap of my foreleg, folding in a vice and keeping its squirming body from escaping.

I looked hesitantly at it. Maybe it was better to kill it, before trying to eat, as a simple courtesy. I raised my other claw and punched the tip of one spike into its body, pressing deep until it stopped moving.

I poked it a couple of times to see if it was dead, and with the confirmation, I brought the Roca to my mouth.

"Imagine it's a hamburger. The size's even similar!"

I bit tentatively in the soft flesh, the texture reminding me more of toffee but with a more liquid filling. After a few chews, I was surprised to find that it had almost no taste at all!

There was only a faint, tangy flavour with an earthly base, a bit distasteful, but it was so minor compared to the bites I took, that it was bearable, and hunger was the best condiment, so I just gobbled up the thing to calm my stomach and then move on.

[Recovered +2 Stamina Points. Actual SP: 6/10]

It was practically just a snack, it brought my SP a bit over half, but it wouldn't be enough for much. And didn't I have more SP before? I must've consumed one point during my hunt because I used my skills.

I had to find something more satisfying to fill my belly.